Displaying items by tag: income

A Joseph Rowntree Foundation report published on 16 March tells us that as Northern Ireland entered the pandemic, nearly one in five people lived in poverty, including over 100,000 children. 1 in 14 households are in food insecurity, and the recent spike in energy prices, and wider inflation. People in workless families, disabled people, carers, and people in ethnic minority households have much higher poverty rates. So people across Northern Ireland need the new Executive to focus on whether to reverse or partly mitigate the impact of the £20 per week cut to the basic rates of Universal Credit. It could also match benefit up-rating more effectively to the cost of living. A targeted payment, such as the Scottish child payment, would reduce child poverty. The Executive could also consider the role that DLA/PIP can have in helping disabled people into the labour market, including considering how the administration of payments could be redesigned with dignity and poverty reduction at their heart.

Research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has revealed that two years ago 19 million people in the UK, nearly one in three, were living on less than the Minimum Income Standard (MIS). The problem is that household costs are rising, while incomes have stagnated. The Government has already said it is taking action to raise incomes, after Theresa May identified those ‘just about managing’. The MIS is based on what members of the public think is a reasonable income to live on. A single person renting a flat outside London is said to need to earn at least £17,300 a year to reach the MIS, and for a working couple with two children, living in social housing, each of the individuals need to earn £18,900 a year. The figures include six million children - 45% of all children in Britain. There are also 1.8 million pensioners, 14.6% of the age group. The figures are up from 15 million, or 25% of the population, six years previously. The report warns that many families which are just about managing are in danger of falling into poverty. That is despite record levels of employment.